How AI, blockchain technologies are enhancing patient care?

Artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain have become important buzzwords in different sectors i.e finance and technology. However, there is no reason to believe that these cutting-edge technologies will not eventually make its way into healthcare. If we look closely at the healthcare environment, its possible that AI and blockchain technologyare already being implemented.

Support for AI and blockchain has been rising with increased interest from industry and the Government stakeholders. The ultimate cost-effective goal is to reduce healthcare burdens through decentralized record keeping and automated treatment protocols. It is becoming more plausible to believe that automated technology and machine learning can make accurate judgements in diagnostics and treatment.

While many physicians are wary of this technology, there are many more who are unaware that this technology exists in the first place. Out of almost 2,000 physicians, including those in the US and worldwide, almost half of them reported that they believed blockchain was not ready to enter the healthcare industry.

With any new developments in technology, there are pros and cons to their implementation. In healthcare, the potential changes that AI and blockchain could generate are hard to ignore.

Interoperability
Last year, blockchain use was applied to pharmaceutical tracking, auditing for physician networks, and supporting value-based care systems. Blockchain solutions have seen considerable physicians approval for regulatory compliance procedures as well as medical and health records transmission and storage. Integrating blockchain into healthcare systems could mean increased data security across multiple electronic health platforms with reduced costs. Other uses for blockchain have been demonstrated with regard to reduced incidents of medicare fraud as well as audit tracking for important clinical trial records.

Reduce healthcare costs
The implication for AI use has shown great promise for pharmaceutical research and development that is both cost-effective and integrative. AI has given researchers the ability to explore and analyze large amounts of data in a relatively quick and efficient manner. In other words, clinical trials would eventually carry less chance for error in uating new drug data. Enhancing clinical trials could mean reduced drug costs as well as reduced healthcare costs overall.

Medical support
AI has the potential to expand healthcare treatment processes with deep machine learning processes. Studies have reported the utilization of smart contracts for ancillary physician support. With this support, AI systems can provide accurate preliminary patient assessments and alert physicians about any deteriorating conditions before they lead to a critical event. Furthermore, treatment regimens and lab data can be accurately analyzed to develop effective recommendations for any final considerations by a physician.

While AI and blockchain may seem like a harrowing possibility for some providers, it is important to take all aspects of this emerging technology into consideration as the benefits and possibilities are endless. Patients could see greater access to care at their fingertips while physicians shift their focus towards personalised patient care rather than arbitrary procedures that can be eliminated with smarter technologies.